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Critical Reasoning/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A starship prepares to orbit a planet. NARRATOR: Dear Space Diary, Today was fun. Made orbit around Planet 47G-alpha Prime. Is it fit to be colonized? Am about to meet with landing crew to go over their report. The narrator is a boy, Tim, acting as the starship captain. His crewmates appear and sit next to him at a long table. Moby is the first officer. There are two other robot officers. TIM: Ah, right on time. So tell me: Should we colonize 47G-alpha Prime? MOBY AND ROBOT OFFICERS: Beep. The officers raise their hands in the air enthusiastically. TIM: Great news. But, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't check out your report. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Why? To check on your reasoning, of course. Tim holds a tablet and stylus. The officers quietly look up in the air. TIM: Right. Reasoning is the process we use to figure out what to believe. Tim whistles. A flying projector comes over to him. They all view the screen. TIM: This process often takes the form of an argument. Simply put, that’s a series of statements leading to a conclusion. The word "statement" appears by an arrow pointing to the word "conclusion." TIM: There are many different terms for these statements, with slightly different meanings. The words "Premise," "Claim," and "Proposition" replace the word "statement." TIM: But in everyday language, they're all just reasons to support the argument's conclusion. The conclusion and argument appear as an outline. The conclusion appears on top. The supporting reasons appear below it. TIM: Your conclusion is that we should colonize this planet. The text "Colonize 47G-alpha Prime" becomes the conclusion. TIM: The question is, why? The officers look like they are thinking, but remain quiet. TIM: In other words, what are your reasons? MOBY: Beep. An officer raises his hand. TIM: Okay, good: the planet has water. The top reason is "H2O." An image of a drop of water appears next to it. TIM: Let's see what else is in your report. Tim mumbles and examines his tablet. TIM: Oh, "It's the third planet in the system, just like Earth." The next reason is "third planet." An image shows an arrow pointing to the planet’s location within its solar system. TIM: And finally, "The atmosphere contains oxygen." The third reason is "O2 in air." An image shows a pair of lungs and an arrow indicates the circulation of the air. TIM: If these reasons are good, your argument will be strong; but if not, well, it won't be. The conclusion and reasons in the outline crumble. MOBY: Beep. TIM: First, we should make sure your claims are relevant, or significant to the conclusion. Does water make a planet easier to colonize? The outline is shown again and the first reason flashes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Right, people need water to survive, so that's a relevant reason. The same can be said for oxygen: it's essential to human life. The third reason flashes. TIM: Now what about this one: Does it matter that the planet is third from its sun? The second reason, "third planet," is shown with its image. TIM: Sunlight is important: it provides heat and energy for life. But the planet's order doesn't tell us how far it is from its sun. The sunlight expands. The planet moves closer to, and farther from, the sun. TIM: And besides, the star might be much bigger, or much smaller, than ours. The sun is shown larger and smaller than Earth’s sun. TIM: I think it's safe to say that being third from the sun isn't relevant on its own. This reason crumbles away. ROBOT OFFICER: Beep. TIM: Yup, we're still left with two potentially good reasons. But we have to approach each claim with skepticism, or doubt. The officers wave their hands and beep in disapproval. MOBY AND ROBOT OFFICERS: Beep. TIM: No, I'm not calling you liars. The officers calm down. TIM: But your claims need to be backed up by evidence, otherwise, they're just claims. Your report says, "The landing team observed rivers, lakes, and clouds." Observations count as evidence, but they can be misleading. An outline shows "H2O" next to the word "Observations." Under that are the words "Rivers and lakes" and an image of water, and the word "Clouds" with the image of a cloud. TIM: You go on to write, "Rivers, lakes, and clouds are all made of water." Are you sure about that? The officers think about it and are quiet. TIM: This is an example of a false assumption: something we take for granted without all the facts. Lakes and clouds are made of water on Earth, but not necessarily on other planets. An image shows a lake on a partly cloudy day. TIM: Saturn's moon Titan has methane lakes, and Venus has clouds of sulfuric acid. Images show Titan's lakes and Venus's clouds. TIM: We need to take samples to confirm you saw water. Tim takes a sip of water. The officers try to warn him not to drink it. MOBY AND ROBOT OFFICERS: Beep. TIM: This is from the lake, isn't it? Tim spits the water out. TIM: We'll just, save that for the lab. Ugh. Anyway, on to oxygen. Your report says "We measured oxygen in the air. Humans breathe oxygen. Therefore, the air is breathable." The words "O2 in air" appear with the image of lungs. TIM: Here, you're making an inference: a judgment based on known facts. It's true, humans need oxygen to breathe. The words "Humans breathe O2" appear next to "O2 in air." TIM: Your instruments show that there's oxygen in the atmosphere. The word "Observations" appears, then the words "Instruments detect O2" appear under it. TIM: Does it follow that the planet's air is safe to breathe? MOBY AND OFFICERS: Beep. TIM:Actually, it doesn't. Both of your facts are true, but your reasoning is wrong. Breathable air has oxygen but that doesn't mean that all atmospheres with oxygen are breathable. A diagram shows that a breathable atmosphere with oxygen is a small percentage of all atmospheres with oxygen. TIM: See the difference? There might not be enough oxygen, for one thing. There might be too much. Or there might be other stuff in the air that's poisonous. An animation illustrates what Tim describes. TIM: Unfortunately, your argument to colonize is looking pretty weak now. The O2 and oxygen arguments crumble away in the outline. MOBY AND OFFICERS: Beep. The officers raise their hands and wave them angrily. TIM: Well, you can strengthen your argument with some more evidence. Let's see what the lab says about this sample. Meanwhile, we'll get a sample of the planet's air. We'll test out exactly what's in there before we beam down and breathe it. The officers sit looking guilty. TIM: Oh no. You've filled the ship with air from the planet, haven't you? Green clouds appear. Tim puts his head in his hands. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts